OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of displacement due to Hurricane Sandy on mental health outcomes among residents of the greater New York City (NYC) area. DESIGN: Prospective, cross sectional. SETTING: NYC area residents, including Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island. PARTICIPANTS: In a 4.25 year period (June 2012 to September 2016), a convenience sample of 1,615 adult residents from the greater NYC area completed validated measures of hurricane exposure (including displacement), perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as well as indicators of alcohol, illicit substance, and tobacco use...

Background : More than 500 million people worldwide live within exposure range of an active volcano and children are a vulnerable subgroup of such exposed populations. However, studies on the effects of volcanic eruptions on children's health beyond the first year are sparse. Objective : To examine the effect of the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption on physical and mental health symptoms among exposed children in 2010 and 2013 and to identify potential predictive factors for symptoms. Method : In a population-based prospective cohort study, data was collected on the adult population ( N = 1615) exposed to the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption and a non-exposed group ( N = 697)...

After Sichuan earthquake, a few dedicated teams of psychological volunteers have been committed to helping the survivors of the disaster for a long period. Their personal transformation experiences were absent in the literatures. The purpose of this qualitative research was to adopt a qualitative research to examine individuals' lived experiences of personal transformation after long-term disaster mental health services. The study interviewed 10 psychological counselors, 3 psychiatric nurses, 4 psychiatrist, and 6 social workers...

The development of the UK's military policy includes the potential for military organisations to deploy in support of humanitarian aid operations. This paper offers an overview of the risks to people's mental health of their exposure to emergencies, major incidents, disasters, terrorism, displacement, postconflict environments in which humanitarian aid is delivered, and deployments to conflict zones. It summarises the psychosocial approach recommended by many contemporary researchers and practitioners. It differentiates the extremely common experience of distress from the mental disorders that people who are affected may develop and introduces the construct of psychosocial resilience...

This population-based longitudinal study examined the rates and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 725 differentially exposed survivors of the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia, 23 years after the event. Participants had been previously evaluated in 1991. Evaluations included assessment of current PTSD (based on DSM-5 criteria), and a variety of potential risk and protective factors. For the whole sample, the rate of PTSD attributed to the earthquake decreased from 48.7% in 1991 to 11...

The Zika virus was largely unknown to many health care systems before the outbreak of 2015. The unique public health threat posed by the Zika virus and the evolving understanding of its pathology required continuous communication between a health care delivery system and a local public health department. By leveraging an existing relationship, NYC Health+Hospitals worked closely with New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to ensure that Zika-related processes and procedures within NYC Health+Hospitals facilities aligned with the most current Zika virus guidance...

Psychological stressors have been observed immediately following disasters, yet less is known about the long-term effects on the mental health of vulnerable communities. In 2005, Graniteville, S.C. was ravaged by a train derailment that leaked approximately 60 tons of chlorine gas and left several people dead in the small community. The purpose of this study was to examine the mental health of Graniteville-area residents in the nine years following the train disaster using a mixed methods approach. Using the photovoice method, participants reported compromised mental health with symptoms consistent with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, fear, and anxiety...

Background: In 1986, Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Pripyat, Ukraine exploded, releasing highly-radioactive materials into the surrounding environment. Although the physical effects of the disaster have been well-documented, a limited amount of research has been conducted on association of the disaster with long-term, clinically-diagnosable mental health disorders. According to the diathesis-stress model, the stress of potential and unknown exposure to radioactive materials and the ensuing changes to ones life or environment due to the disaster might lead those with previous vulnerabilities to fall into a poor state of mental health...

PURPOSE: In this article, I explore emotions, trauma, and mental health issues residents experienced after tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri in 2011. METHODS: The research is based on 162 interviews and fieldwork from 2013-2015. I draw from literature on social suffering and trauma to ask how experiencing mental health and trauma changes how people make sense of their social worlds. RESULTS: I discuss four common themes: 1...

Disasters can have an enormous impact on the health and well-being of those affected. Internationally, governments and service providers are often challenged to address complex psychosocial problems. Ideally, the potentially broad range of support activities include a coherent, high-quality mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programme. We present a theory-driven quantitative analysis of the quality of 40 MHPSS programmes, mostly implemented in European disaster settings. The objective is to measure quality domains recognized as relevant in the literature and to empirically test associations...

OBJECTIVE: Approximately 70,000 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) personnel were dispatched in the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami and nuclear disaster that followed. This study was conducted to evaluate the mental health of the JGSDF personnel and the correlates. METHODS: Data collected from 56,753 participants at three time points (one, six, and 12 months after mission completion) were analyzed. Those who scored 25 or more points on the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) were allocated into the high posttraumatic stress response (high-PTSR) group, and the high general psychological distress (high-GPD) group, respectively...

Objective: We monitored a group of students from Danwon High School who survived the Sewol ferry disaster for 27 months to examine the course of their psychological symptoms. Methods: We performed a chart review at the Danwon High School Mental Health Center at the following time points (T): 9 months (T1), 12 months (T2), and 15 months (T3) after the disaster. Additionally, we performed a follow-up review at 27 months (T4). Subjects completed the 'State' section of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression assessment, the Child Report of Post-traumatic Symptoms, and the Inventory of Complicated Grief...

Relaxation programs are known for their versatility, cost-effectiveness, and ability to help people obtain skills to regulate their mental states and promote and maintain health. Self-Active Relaxation Therapy (SART) is a body-oriented approach to psychological rehabilitation that grew out of the suite of movement tasks developed in the Japanese psychotherapy known as Dohsa-hou , or the body movement method. The program for SART is designed to stretch, twist, and release areas of the upper, lower, and whole body through a set of movements which are guided by the practitioner and performed "self-actively" by the client to empower them to learn to recognize points of tension in the body and act on their own to achieve a relaxed state...

This study sought to describe the mental health problems experienced by Korean disaster survivors, using a qualitative research method to provide empirical resources for effective disaster mental health support in Korea. Participants were 16 adults or elderly adults who experienced one or more disasters at least 12 months ago recruited via theoretical sampling. Participants underwent in-depth individual interviews on their disaster experiences, which were recorded and transcribed for qualitative analysis, which followed Strauss and Corbin's (1998) Grounded theory...

There is little existing in the literature that provides a definition of readiness for a jurisdiction's whole health care system. As defining readiness at the system level has proven to be challenging, an approach that provides a framework for planning and measuring health care readiness with broad utility is needed. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) devised the Readiness Target Project. Nine areas or dimensions of readiness emerged from this work. Through focus groups and feedback from hospital stakeholders DOHMH developed a matrix of readiness areas outlining current state, target state, gaps, and recommendations to achieve readiness...

Despite the fact that Asians constituted a sizeable proportion of those exposed to the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001 due to its proximity to Chinatown and many South Asians working in the nearby buildings, no study had focused on examining the mental health impact of the attack in this group. Based on data collected by the World Trade Center Health Registry from a sample of 4721 Asians 2-3 years after the disaster, this study provides a baseline investigation for the prevalence and the risk and protective factors for PTSD among Asian Americans directly exposed to the attack and compared this population against 42,862 non-Hispanic Whites...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of a simulation training in raising a group of young students' personal and situational awareness in disasters and emergencies. METHODS: In total, 25 young students participated in two simulation scenarios representing two actual events, fire, and shooting, using a combination of two validated simulation training (Emergency Management and Preparedness Training for Youth [EMPTY]). The changes in their knowledge and awareness were evaluated by using questionnaires and the whole simulation was evaluated by three independent observers and a reference group...

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether stressors after a disaster have later effects on the mental health of public servants who engage in disaster response and to estimate the proportion of those experiencing persistent mental distress. METHODS: We analyzed the data of health surveys conducted in Miyagi Prefecture for all prefectural public servants at 2, 7, and 16 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake (n=3174). We investigated relationships between mental distress (defined as K6≥10) at 16 months after the earthquake and earthquake damage and working conditions at 2 months...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to describe changes in mental health among women following an oil spill and to examine their association with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS). METHODS: The Women and Their Children's Health study followed 2038 women in Louisiana after the DHOS. Subjects were interviewed in 2012-2014 and 2014-2016. Oil spill exposure was characterized using survey items about economic and physical exposures. Outcomes were depressive symptoms and mental distress...